When you need me
by ofwoodandwaterandsea
Summary: Kurt wakes up in the middle of the night. something's wrong. very wrong. what can it be? will he be okay?
1. Chapter 1

When Kurt woke up he knew something was wrong. His whole brain felt swirled and his whole body was sore. And his stomach, oh god. Fuck. It felt as if there was a hot poker that weighed a thousand pounds sitting in his gut. Then the weight jumped up and he began to vomit, hot and sour. He convulsed helplessly as he desperately tried to aim over the edge of the bed, but it was no use and he collapsed into the stinking messy sheets with a sob. But then his stomach churned and he was unable to do anything but retch over and over until there was nothing more left and he collapsed on his bed. He felt the world start to swim, and it took all of his strength to fumble for his phone. As soon as he dialed 911 everything went black.

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	2. Chapter 2

The next thing he knew, he was being lifted into the air by unfamiliar hands. He panicked, and tried to struggle but he found he could barely move. His head was spinning and his whole body weighed a million pounds. The heavy, stabbing pain was worse then anything and he began to cry again, whimpering quietly. He felt a hand on his face and screamed. **Sir, I'm a trained EMS responder. I'm here to help you. My names James. Now I need to ask you a few questions. Can you tell me your name? **although it felt ridiculously hard to think Kurt managed to respond **Kurt hummel. I'm 18 years old. My dad burt hummel, he's out of town. What's wrong with me. Can you make it stop? I. I can't move. What's happening? **Panicked, He began to hyperventilate, which sent the world in another dizzyingly painful spin, before everything disappeared he felt something plastic being placed over him then nothing.


	3. Chapter 3

Oh yeah, I own nothing.

Blaine was sleeping peacefully when he was awakened by the buzzing of his phone. "In your skin tight jeans be my teenage dream…." His mind fuzzy with sleep he fumbled for the phone, worried at what it could be but also looking forward to the familiar high voice of his boyfriend. To his surprise however, an unfamiliar male voice was on the line.

"Hello, is this Blaine Anderson?"

"Yes, Yes, I'm Blaine. Who are you, and what happened to Kurt? God, please tell me he's alright!"

"I'm an EMS responder. You were the first person I saw in his contacts. We're not sure what's wrong with him, but we're in transit to the hospital, whatever it is, he's going to need a friend. Can you come? We're headed to Mercy Hospital, come to the E.R. and someone will meet you there."

"Oh yes, of course I'll be there. Just, take care of him alright. He's important."

The last of Blaine's words were cut off as the phone went dead. For a long moment he was frozen, numb with the shock of this news. Kurt, his Kurt, was sick, could be. No, he mustn't think that. This was Kurt after all, he was strong, he was perfect. He would be okay. He had to be okay. Blaine frantically tried to pull himself together but he found it took all of his energy to stop panicking and he knew he would be unable to drive safely. Knowing his parents would likely just slap him if he woke them up at 4:00 am he snuck into his brother Cooper's room, thanking god that he was home from school for the weekend, and tentatively poked his shoulder.

"Coop? I need your help. It's Kurt. He's in the hospital." Just saying it made it so terribly real for Blaine that he found he could barely breathe and he clung to his brother like a small child. To his eternal gratitude, Cooper did not laugh or crack a joke as was typical for the goofy man, but hugged him tightly.

"Blainers it's going to be okay. Kurt's where they're going to make him better. That's where we have to go too. He needs you Blaine. You have to be strong for him, okay?"

Blaine nodded, and moved for the door. Cooper stopped him with a grin.

"Shoes and coat first, okay? I'll bring you some clothes later."

Cooper led him gently out the door and to the car, where he got woodenly into the passengers seat and sat, stock still. He barely noticed when cooper began to drive, but as he slowly became aware of the motion he thought it must be absurdly slow. He wanted to be there now, not in, the hospital couldn't be 25 minutes away? Anything could happen to Kurt between now and then.

"Cooooooper, we have to go faster, he's all alone there. We have to go. Come on."

"I know Blaine, I know. I'm going 65 miles per hour. We can't go any faster without it being safe."

" I don't care about being safe. I have to get to Kurt."

"Blaine. This is the speed we're going. If we get hurt that won't help Kurt."

"I hate you."

"No you don't."

"No I don't Coop. Sorry. I'm just.."

"I know. It's okay Blainers. Really."

As the drive went on Blaine felt anxiety rising in him like a firestorm. He became more and more tense, unable to sit still as he leaned anxiously out the window. When they finally reached the hospital Blaine leaped out of the car, too terrified for such impediments as carparks. He sprinted into the E.R. entrance and practically ran into the nurses station.

"Kurt Hummel. Where's Kurt Hummel?"

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	4. Chapter 4

"Kurt Hummel, I need to see him, is he okay? Where is he? I need to see him. I need to see him. Please? What happened to him?"

Blaine paused for a second, panting, and spluttering. He knew he was crying, and must look terrible but he didn't care. The only thing he cared about was Kurt.

"And you are?"

"Blaine Anderson, his, his Boyfriend."

Normally cautious in such a homophobic town, Blaine didn't hesitate in this moment to claim Kurt with all of the devotion and love for him that he possessed. To his immense relief the nurse simply smiled sympathetically at him.

"I'm sorry, we can only release information to family."

"But, please, his dad's out of town and his mom's dead. You have to let me see him. Please? He hates hospitals. They terrify him. He can't be alone."

The nurse consulted some papers, moving agonizingly slowly to blaines anxious eyes before she looked back up and said.

"Very Well, if you head into room 4C someone will be in to explain the situation."

"But please, I want to see Kurt, I have to see Kurt."

"As I said, if you proceed to 4C someone will be in to explain the situation.

Blaine went obediently into the small room. He barely looked past the table and chairs and instead paced the carpet, exhausted yet completely unable to sit still. After a minute or so there was a knock at the door and in walked a small man wearing a white lab coat. Although the tall gangly Blaine easily dwarfed this diminuitive figure the man gave off such an iar of control that Blaine sat down immediately, intimidated.

"Kurt Hummel was brought in about an hour ago, with severe stomach pain. He has a ruptured appendix, and is down in the operating room right now. The surgery should take about another two hours, and then he will have to be on IV antibiotics for the next few weeks in order to clear the infection from his system. He should make a full recovery, provided we caught it in time. You won't be able to see him for a few hours anyway, so you might like to see if you could bring him some personal items for when he wakes up. Now, about his next of kin, does he have a father? Mother? Any guardian that you can call?"

"His father, Burt Hummel, but he's in Washington D.C. for the week, and it will take him hours to get here, I guess I could call Carole, his dads girlfriend. Kurt likes her. She lives in Lima."

"Ah yes, I know Carole, she's actually scheduled for the 7 am shift. That can be switched though, let me see. If you proceed downstairs to the O.R. waiting rooms we will keep you updated there. I will make sure Carole gets sent down to wait with you when she arrives."

"Oh okay sir. Just tell me, will he be okay?" Blaine's voice broke on the last words.

"We caught it early. He'll have a fight of it, but he should be okay. That's all I can say. I'm sorry."

As the man turned to leave Blaine pulled out his phone, which he had thankfully stuck in his pocket and dialed with fumbling fingers.

"Burt. Help. It's Kurt."


	5. Chapter 5

"Kurt, what happened. Who is this, Blaine? It's 2:30 in the morning? What's wrong?"

"Burt, oh Burt"

At this Blaine began to sob. It was a long moment before he could pull himself together enough to splutter.

"Kurt. Ruptured appendix. Hospital. Come. Please."

"Oh god. Oh god. My baby boy. How is he?"

" I I don't know, he's in surgery. That will be over in a few hours. They said I just have to wait. They said, he'll be here for weeks. Weeks. Burt, what if he."

He couldn't finish the sentence, but Burt understood.

"You mustn't say that Blaine you mustn't even think it. You have to be strong for Kurt when he wakes up. I'll be there in a few hours, but you have to take care of my baby boy."

"I will, sir, mister." Blaine stuttered through his nerves, still on the verge of collapse.

"Call me Burt, son. Do you have someone with you? I don't want you to be alone."

"Yeah. Cooper drove me. And Carole's coming. Wait, Coop. I have to find Coop!"

"Call me if you know anything. I'm in the subway to the airport right now."

"Bye"

Realizing he had no idea where his brother was, Blaine careened out of the room and ran right into him. Cooper, seeing Blaine's red eyes pulled him into a hug.

"Blaine, what happened. Talk to me. Talk to me."

"It's Kurt, he has a ruptured appendix, and is in surgery. They say he'll have a massive infection from the rupture and will need to be here for weeks. Weeks. Coop."

Cooper hugged the younger boy, then led him to a chair in a more private corner of the E.R. Sitting him down he took off his coat and wrapped it around the younger boys shoulders.

"Oh Blainers you're freezing. Here, take my coat. I'm going back home to tell mom and dad, and to get us some clothing. Just sit here and try to stay calm. Okay. I want you to make a list of things that Kurt's going to need. When I get back I'm going to go there. Can you do that?"

Blaine nodded, and Cooper left hurriedly.

"But wait Coop? What about you. You'll freeze!"

"I'll be fine. I'll see you in a bit."

Blaine continued to sit obediently in the chair, wrapped in his brothers scent from the wool jacket. It smelled so much like home that the scratchy wool fabric was comforting although he knew he must look ridiculous. He started a list of items but was soon sidetracked by memories, of evenings spent spooning under Kurt's favorite old quilt, of sleepy good morning kisses when they reached school and Kurt still smelled strongly of his crisp lilac lotion. He thought of the ragged doll that had belonged to Kurt's mother that sat above his desk, and his journal of fashion sketches. He couldn't take it any more, thinking of Kurt this way, of his world without Kurt in it to make him laugh and to fight away his nightmares. Kurt was everything, his everything. Blaine checked his watch anxiously. It should be time, the surgery should be over, but it wasn't. What was taking so damn long?


	6. Chapter 6

Blaine had been sitting in the chair for what felt like days. He was fighting fiercely against the anxiety that was building in him but was slowly losing the battle. He felt a hand on his shoulder and jumped, startled, but it was only Carole, bearing two coffees.

"Blaine? Here, you'll need it."

Blaine had never felt very comfortable around Carole; she was nice enough but he had always got the impression that she felt it was enough responsibility to look after two boys without bothering with her stepsons boyfriend. But suddenly she looked so comforting and so capable that he gave her an impulsive hug.

"Carole."

He lost all words after that as she hugged him tightly, and he knew in that simple gesture that she was here to stay, and she would take care of the both of them.

"I know Blaine, I know. You have to trust him, trust in Kurt. He's a fighter, he can do this."

Blaine didn't respond, just began to drink the coffee with all of his concentration. It did make him feel a bit better, calming some of his chills as the hot liquid slipped down. Carole sat herself down beside the smaller boy and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, squeezing comfortingly as they waited desperately for news.

"Kurt Hummel?"

A voice broke their waiting as a nurse stood over them and both of them stood up clumsily, Blaine nearly dropping his now cold coffee that he had still not finished.

"Kurt? Where is he? I need to see him, how is he?"

Blaine's voice broke from disuse, he had been silent for nearly two hours with barely anything to drink.

"Kurt is out of surgery, it was successful, though he is verging on sepsis from the infection, as we expected. We have him in the ICU on antibiotics. You can come see him, though he probably won't be conscious until the fever goes down."

Blaine followed her, Carole by his side down a long maze of halls until he saw Kurt, lying surrounded by an impossibly complex array of tubes and wires and beeping machines. He looked as if he could be sleeping, except for the sheen of sweat covering his face and how deathly pale he was. Blaine sank to his knees by Kurt's side, the fear at how bad he looked overwhelming him.

"You can touch him Blaine, it's okay, you won't hurt him. He's probably aware, might calm him down."

Blaine gingerly wrapped his larger hand around Kurt's clammy one, stroking the tape that covered the bruise of an incision for the IV that snaked up to a pole by the bed. He couldn't help the tears that slid silently down his face. He was trying so hard to say calm in case Kurt could hear him but it was so hard to see his boyfriend right here but so far away and so sick. It broke his hard to see him in such pain and he wished there was something he could do. But there was nothing, he had to trust. Could he?


	7. Chapter 7

Kurt came back to consciousness slowly and painfully. If anything he felt worse then when he had first woken up. He was absolutely freezing, and he felt soaking wet, but there was also the pain, radiating from his stomach to every part of his body it felt like. He struggled to remember what was going on, which brought panic. What happened? Where was he, and what, what in the world was that god awful beeping sound? It pounded into his head and ruined every chance that he had of figuring out what in the world was happening, and for a long time all he could feel was the pain. He wondered if he was dying. Death would be a relief. Death would mean no pain. He might see his mom. He became slowly overwhelmed by panic as he realized he was alone, completely alone. He seemed he would be crying, if he could cry. He tried desperately to move his arms but even the thought of this small effort was unbearably painful. What was to become of him in this dark murky pain world. What was going on? But after a while he became aware of a voice, so unbearably familiar that he was overcome by relief. The low ] tenor was Blaine, right here, with him in this strange dark place. At first he was sad, his heart, if it still existed, aching at the thought of Blaine in so much pain, but his own fear won out and he began to search for Blaine, screaming with his whisper of a voice and flailing about despite the immense pain.

Blaine, sitting tensely by Kurt's bed jumped, startled as Kurt began to scream, and flail on the bed. He was crying in pain, and so incoherent that Blaine could not understand what he was trying to say, the words choking as they scraped from his throat. Blaine took Kurt by the shoulders, holding him as firmly as he dared to try to get him out of the nightmare. He kissed the younger boys sweat soaked forehead, murmuring words of comfort until suddenly Kurts eyes opened with a flash.

"Blaine? Blaine help. Blaine I'm scared."

Blaine took Kurt's hand in his and kissed it gently. Kurt, I'm right here, I've got you. You're okay. You're safe and taken care of. Just try to lie still, it'll hurt less, just be strong for me baby. He saw that tears were streaming down Kurt's clammy cheeks, and he gently thumbed them away, kissing his forehead again before he started to sing.

Hold your breath

Make a wish

Count to three

Come with me

And you'll be

In a world of

Pure imagination

Take a look

And you'll see

Into your imagination

We'll begin

With a spin

Traveling in

The world of my creation

What we'll see

Will defy

Explanation

If you want to view paradise

Simply look around and view it

Anything you want to, do it

Want to change the world?

There's nothing

To it

There is no

Life I know

To compare with

Pure imagination

Living there

You'll be free

If you truly wish to be

If you want to view paradise

Simply look around and view it

Anything you want to, do it

Want to change the world?

There's nothing

To it

There is no

Life I know

To compare with

Pure imagination

Living there

You'll be free

If you truly

Wish to be

Slowly the words of the song penetrated the terrified shell of Kurts' consciousness and for a second he thought that his mom was there, a thought that terrified him because that would mean he was dead. But he realized that the familiar words were those of Blaine, and the thought that he must be close was enough to convince Kurt to stop searching and to allow the darkness to claim him with it's promise of painless sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Now that he was next to Kurt, which never failed to calm him down regardless of the present circumstances, Blaine found it easier to make a list of items for Cooper, so that when the older boy came back with clothes he was ready, knowing that Kurt wouldn't be able to stand being in such a drab and ugly room more then he wanted his brother around. Despite his own exhaustion Blaine obediently dressed himself in the clothes Cooper brought, though despite Caroles motherly urging he refused to leave the room for even a minute to shower. He was far from hungry, but he ate the muffin she handed to him, Burt's words running through his head, take care of him Blaine, he needs you. Take care of him Blaine. He held Kurt's hand even as the nurses came back in to up his antibiotics, and listened without really hearing to their talk of his temperature and other vitals. All he understood was that Kurt was alive, but that was about it. Nothing looked good. And there was nothing he could do.

After an hour Cooper returned, and seeing that Blaine was shivering despite the warm room wrapped him in Kurt's favorite quilt, a thick old thing that smelled so much like Kurt and his lilac moisturizer that it comforted Blaine as it warmed him. Blaine was immensely grateful to Cooper for staying with him. He was away at school so much that Blaine had forgotten what it was like to have his family support him, as his parents were always so dam busy. After a grateful look at Cooper Blaine returned to stroking Kurt's face, murmuring words of comfort too soft for Cooper or Carole to hear. The two adults busied themselves in the newspaper, not wanting to intrude in what felt like an immensely private moment.

After a few hours in which Kurt continued to slip in and out of nightmares while his fever rose there were pounding footsteps at the door and Burt burst into the room breathing heavily. He was completely unaware of the people, at that point Blaine, three nurses, and the two adults, surrounding the bed; he had eyes only for his son, lying asleep for once in the bed. He knelt by his head with a sob, placing his hand on top of his son's clammy ones.

"Hey Bud, it's you're dad, I've got you, you're going to be okay, I love you."

Kurt's eyes opened with a flash. His voice was weak and slightly distant but clearly audible.

"Daddy? You're here, but, Washington. Dad, be careful, your heart."

"I'm fine son, just focus on getting better. I'll be careful though. Don't worry about Washington, you're more important."

Blaine saw Kurt visibly relax into the bed at the words, and he sighed, relieved that Burt was there as well. Burt turned at the sound to look at Blaine, and got up to envelop Blaine in a fierce hug.

"Thank you for my son."

Overwhelmed at the affection from the normally gruff Burt Blaine was unable to say anything, but it didn't matter, for Burt quickly turned to Carole and asked quietly, obviously wanting Kurt to not hear him.

"How is he Carole, tell me?"

Not wanting to intrude but having to know the truth Blaine followed Burt over to Carole, who to his relief squeezed his hand comfortingly before speaking, also in a hushed voice.

"We have a mixed bag. His incision is looking good, and his blood counts are improving sporadically. The issue now is his fever. It's verging on levels and needs to come down before we'll see any real improvement. Although a cooling blanket will be tricky in terms of his scars and overall healing it might be necessary soon. However, overall he is doing as well as can be expected and there's no cause for alarm yet. Really Burt, he's going to be fine."

Not at all reassured and wishing that he hadn't listened to the conversation Blaine went back over to Kurt and took his hand once more.


	9. Chapter 9

"Kurt babe, how are you feeling."

Kurt opened his eyes slowly, feeling as if they weighed thousands of pounds but at the same time were too delicate to even think of moving. Every part of his body hurt terribly, and he also felt deadened, as if his body was frozen, and had he not been so tired he was sure he would have been shaking terribly.

"Blaine, I'm still so cold. Help me. I'm scared."

Heart breaking at the expression on Kurts face and knowing that if Kurt was admitting he was scared then he must be serious Blaine took Kurt's face between his hands, the usually clumsy hands incredibly gentle and felt wonderfully warm to Kurt's clammy but still burning hot skin. Although even the slight pressure felt like far too much the touch reminded Kurt in his foggy confused state that he was not alone and relieved him immensely.

"Kurt, oh Kurt. I know it hurts. I'm so sorry. I love you. I love you. You're safe here. I've got you. I won't let you go I promise. Forever and Ever. I'm so sorry. What can I do?"

It took Kurt a moment to process this but he knew what he needed. His voice was raspy and painful but the words were evident.

"Hold me? I'm scared."

Blaine looked questioningly up at the nurse who was doing something to one of the IV bags.

"Will that hurt him?"

"Take your lead from Kurt, it could help sweat the fever out, might bring his heart rate down. Be careful though."

After looking for Carole and Burt's nod of approval which came readily Blaine cautiously joined Kurt on the bed, working around the tubes and wires to lie down next to his boyfriend, his lanky limbs tensed with the effort not to hurt him. He held Kurts hand and allowed the lengths of their bodys to press up against each other. Leaning over to give Kurt a kiss on the cheek he twined their fingers together so that Kurts hand was resting on his chest.

"Breathe with me. You're not alone. Never alone. I've got you."

The steady rise and fall of Blaines chest and the steady pressure of his presence at his side helped Kurt to calm his trembling spirit and reminded him that he was safe despite the pounding pain and how cold it was. The older boy curled onto his side so that he could keep an eye on Kurt, keeping a steady pressure on his face as he traced small circles on his clammy hot skin.

"Hey Kurt, hey hey hey Kurt. You know what we'll do next week, we'll go to that show Wes is in, Phantom, remember? We'll find you a cape."

"No Capes!" Kurt murmured in a terrible Incredibles impression.

At the sound of his voice Blaine found that he couldn't hold the tears back any longer, and he buried his face in the thin pillow with a sob. Now it was Kurt who brought gentle, hot and shaking hands to his hair, very weakly running his hands through the curls, now incredibly messy from the long hospital hours and lack of gel.

"Oh Blaine, it's okay, everything's going to be okay. I'm here, I'm going to be okay. Shh babe, you're okay. Thank you, thank you for being here. I love you. I love you."

His voice trailed off in a weak cough that brought Blaine back to the present, reaching for a glass of water that he brought gently to Kurts lips. He sipped gratefully, then slumped limply against the pillows once again.

"Do you think you could sleep dear?" Carole asked, coming over to sit by the beside. Kurt didn't answer, for as they watched he was slackening peacefully against the bed, his eyes closing as he went off to sleep, no doubt aided by the increased pain meds the nurse had just hung. She then turned to Blaine, whispering in order to let Kurt sleep.

"Blaine hun, you should probably get some sleep as well, you've been up since what, 3? You can stay here, but you should sleep dear."

"Wake me up as soon as he does?" Blaine said hurriedly, though he already felt the exhaustion coming to claim him. As Carole nodded, and brushed a curl gently out of his eyes he curled protectively around Kurts sleeping body and went to sleep, not minding the fever breath blowing into his face because it meant that Kurt was here, and if not well; alive.


	10. Chapter 10

After making sure that both Blaine and Kurt were comfortable Cooper turned to Burt and Carole and said apologetically;

"I'm sorry, but I went into your house and got some things for Kurt for when he's doing better, Blaine gave me the key."

Burt silenced him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Cooper, thank you. Thank you for caring for Kurt, and for Blaine. I want you know that we consider Blaine a second son, and that extends to you should you need it. Your parents…"

Cooper cut him off standing up angrily.

"My parents haven't given a shit about Blaine since he came out at age 12. That's why he's at Dalton and has been boarding since the 7th grade. They only let him come home for breaks because otherwise their friends would start to ask questions which could damage their precious reputation." He spat bitterly. "It kills me to see them ignore him when he just wants to be loved. He's such a good kid."

"I know Cooper, it's lucky that he has you." Carole replied gently.

" I just wish I could be around him more."

"You try, we all do. He's a fighter, he'll be okay."

"Kurt has done wonders for him." Cooper said. "Whenever he talks about him he just looks so happy and you can just tell he feels like he matters."

"They're good for eachother." Burt interjected, gazing fondly over at the two boys.

"I don't know what either of them would do without the other." He added quietly.

They stood contemplatively, looking worriedly at the two boys, for a few minutes until their personal reveries were interrupted by an unfamiliar doctor that entered the room.

"Hello, I am dr. Greenwald. I performed Kurt's surgery and I'll be his attending. You must be his parents?"

Burt and Carole saw no need to correct him as that would only slow down the information getting so he continued briskly after taking a look at his chart and at the mess of beeping machines that surrounded the bed.

"Well, Kurt is actually doing as well as can be expected for his situation. As you may know, the appendix becomes filled with bile and pus, which if ruptured can cause what is called an abscess to form around the remains of the appendix. That is actually good news for Kurt, as it is buying us more time before infection of the abdomen, peritonitis develops. The next step is to drain the abscess, which means another procedure. We are planning to insert a small tube into his stomach and drain the fluid from the abscess before it can spread to the rest of his abdomen. We are just waiting for his vitals to improve so that he is stable enough for the procedure, which only take a few hours. Then we will drain the abscess and continue with the antibiotic regimen along with flushing the site every few hours until the infection has been cleared from his system. After that we will be able to go in again and remove the appendix completely after which he should make a full recovery. The key with these cases is to be thorough and slow, which gives us the best chance of eliminating all of the infected material."

"What are his chances, please sir, he's my baby boy. He has to be okay." Burt's voice broke at the last words and he seemed to collapse into Carole's shoulder.

"We caught this decently early, and after a week or so here and a few weeks recovering at home he should be as good as new. We're very good at what we do sir. Your boy is in good hands."

"Thank you" Burt muttered, his voice choked with held back tears. "Thank you for my son."

The doctor didn't reply, but smiled kindly at the pair before leaving the room.


	11. Chapter 11

About an hour later Burt and Carole had drifted off to sleep on the too small window seat while Cooper had gone down to the cafeteria to get them all some coffee. Both boys were still sleeping; while Kurt battled his fever Blaine was exhausted from his interrupted night and had already refused to move to somewhere more comfortable if Kurt wanted him right there with him. Instead the smaller boy kept one hand clasped in Kurts smaller one as he curled protectively around him. Peace reigned in the room, and the nurses that came in every few minutes went unnoticed by the sleeping family. Suddenly there were loud footsteps at the door and an angry looking man and a timid looking woman burst in. The man was shouting.

"Blaine Anderson, you explain yourself. Who do you think you are, blowing off this interview that I specifically arranged. Do you understand who you've disrespected. How this will look for colleges? How dare you. This is your future, not mine. I didn't raise such a disrespectful brat."

Blaine woke up slowly, not understand and terrified to hear his father screaming at him. Slowly he remembered. Today was the day he was supposed to meet the members of his fathers law firm, learn how it worked in preparation for the job he was supposed to be getting the following summer. Luckily for the tired and confused Blaine Cooper returned just then. The usually relaxed man became instantly defensive at the sight of his father and moved between man and boy, suddenly seeming three feet taller.

"Dad, what are you doing? How did you get in here?"

"How did I get here? How did you get here? What are you doing here? It's your responsibility to look after him, get him on track. I expected more of you."

"You need to quiet down Dad. This is a hospital. Blaine's boyfriend is very sick. You need to respect that."

At the words John Anderson seemed to grow 10 feet taller. He spluttered and shook with rage.

"Respect? There is no way in hell I'll respect that fucking fag and how he's fagified my son. Blaine? Blaine? Get up. We're going. Now."

He moved to grab the smaller boy by the shoulders but was stopped by Burt, who suddenly seemed infinitely tall and matched his spluttering energy with a cold icy fury.

"Get out, get out now. If you ever say anything like that to my son, or to Blaine you will have to answer to me. Blaine is more then welcome to stay with us, but you sir, have thirty seconds before I call security."

To Blaines surprise his father turned around and stormed away, dragging his mom with him, who also glared as they moved quickly away. When they had completely retreated Blaine burst into tears, his words garbled with sorrow and lingering adrenaline.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, I don't know how they got in here, I'm sorry you had to do that Burt, all those awful things he said, I'm sorry you had to hear that."

Kurt was crying as well, confused and scared at the shouting though he had not been awake enough to hear any specifics. This got Blaine's attention over cooper's hand on his shoulder and he immediately squeezed Kurt's hand, whispering words of comfort into his ear as he gently shushed him through his own sobs until Kurt was once again asleep. Blaine clung to Kurt though he slept, and cried so quietly into his shoulder that Burt and Carole wondered in horror how many times that had been a safety mechanism. Cooper already knew, however, and gently pried Blaine off Kurt and with an arm around him went out into the hallway. Blaine protested weakly and confusedly.

"Kurt, but he's in there, I can't leave Kurt."

Cooper took his hands and forced Blaine to look at him. His eyes were gentle but firm as he began to speak.

"Blainers you need to look after yourself. Kurt will be okay with Burt and Carole, but you need to shower, and take a breather."

He refused to meet Coopers eyes for a while but slowly he nodded.

"Okay. I guess. Are you sure?"

"Yes Blainers. You're important. You need to take care of yourself as well. You're doing a wonderful job taking care of Kurt but you can't keep doing that if you don't let yourself feel things as well. You can go back into the room in a few minutes once you've had a chance to breathe and shower and clean up. And Blaine?"

"What?" Blaine muttered slightly resentfully.

"I love you. Our parents are idiots and everything they said was a complete lie. You're a great kid and the best lil bro a guy could have. Even if you are a squirt. You remember that, you hear?"

Blaine nodded, hugging Cooper tightly.

"Thanks."

"Now scram you. Bud, you sorta smell."

After showing him to the family and friends bathroom Cooper returned to Burt and Carole, who were sitting by Kurt's bed, each holding one of his hands as he slept fitfully.

"How is he?" Carole asked, her voice timid.

"Not great, but I've sent him to go shower and take a breather. Unfortunately that wasn't new for him, but he'll be okay. Just remind him that you love him and keep letting him know that he has a home with you. It probably meant the world to him the way you guys defended him. Thank you."

" Oh of course" Burt said, "Even if he hadn' been so wonderful to my son he's a special kid and doesn't deserve that sort of treatment. Nobody does."

"It makes me feel a lot better, that he at least has some supportive adults."

Cooper settled himself down on a chair by the window and began to scroll through the messages he had received from his boss wondering why he hadn't come into work that day. Ah well, it didn't really matter; he was otherwise flawless as an employee and besides, Blaine was more important.


End file.
